The present invention relates to a modified poxvirus and to methods of making and using the same. More in particular, the invention relates to recombinant poxvirus, which virus expresses gene products of a herpesvirus gene, and to vaccines which provide protective immunity against herpesvirus infections.
Several publications are referenced in this application by arabic numerals within parentheses. Full citation to these references is found at the end of the specification immediately preceding the claims. These references describe the state-of-the-art to which this invention pertains.
Vaccinia virus and more recently other poxviruses have been used for the insertion and expression of foreign genes. The basic technique of inserting foreign genes into live infectious poxvirus involves recombination between pox DNA sequences flanking a foreign genetic element in a donor plasmid and homologous sequences present in the rescuing poxvirus (28).
Specifically, the recombinant poxviruses are constructed in two steps known in the art and analogous to the methods for creating synthetic recombinants of the vaccinia virus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,112, the disclosure of which patent is incorporated herein by reference.
First, the DNA gene sequence to be inserted into the virus, particularly an open reading frame from a non-pox source, is placed into an E. coli plasmid construct into which DNA homologous to a section of DNA of the poxvirus has been inserted. Separately, the DNA gene sequence to be inserted is ligated to a promoter. The promoter-gene linkage is positioned in the plasmid construct so that the promoter-gene linkage is flanked on both ends by DNA homologous to a DNA sequence flanking a region of pox DNA containing a nonessential locus. The resulting plasmid construct is then amplified by growth within E. coli bacteria (11) and isolated (12,20).
Second, the isolated plasmid containing the DNA gene sequence to be inserted is transfected into a cell culture, e.g. chick embryo fibroblasts, along with the poxvirus. Recombination between homologous pox DNA in the plasmid and the viral genome respectively gives a poxvirus modified by the presence, in a nonessential region of its genome, of foreign DNA sequences. The term xe2x80x9cforeignxe2x80x9d DNA designates exogenous DNA, particularly DNA from a non-pox source, that codes for gene products not ordinarily produced by the genome into which the exogenous DNA is placed.
Genetic recombination is in general the exchange of homologous sections of DNA between two strands of DNA. In certain viruses RNA may replace DNA. Homologous sections of nucleic acid are sections of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) which have the same sequence of nucleotide bases.
Genetic recombination may take place naturally during the replication or manufacture of new viral genomes within the infected host cell. Thus, genetic recombination between viral genes may occur during the viral replication cycle that takes place in a host cell which is co-infected with two or more different viruses or other genetic constructs. A section of DNA from a first genome is used interchangeably in constructing the section of the genome of a second co-infecting virus in which the DNA is homologous with that of the first viral genome.
However, recombination can also take place between sections of DNA in different genomes that are not perfectly homologous. If one such section is from a first genome homologous with a section of another genome except for the presence within the first section of, for example, a genetic marker or a gene coding for an antigenic determinant inserted into a portion of the homologous DNA, recombination can still take place and the products of that recombination are then detectable by the presence of that genetic marker or gene in the recombinant viral genome.
Successful expression of the inserted DNA genetic sequence by the modified infectious virus requires two conditions. First, the insertion must be into a nonessential region of the virus in order that the modified virus remain viable. The second condition for expression of inserted DNA is the presence of a promoter in the proper relationship to the inserted DNA. The promoter must be placed so that it is located upstream from the DNA sequence to be expressed.
There are two subtypes of equine herpesvirus that, although they contain cross-neutralizing epitopes, can be distinguished by their antigenic profiles, restriction endonuclease fingerprints and their pathogenicity for horses (1). Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) is associated with respiratory tract disease, central nervous system disorders and classic herpetic abortions whereas equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV-4) is predominantly associated with respiratory tract disease (1,48). Equine herpesviruses are members of the alphaherpesvirus subfamily and display many of the typical biological and biochemical characteristics of human herpesviruses, such as genomic isomerization, regulation of gene expression, establishment of latent infections, generation of defective interfering virus particles, induction of neurological disorders, and in vitro oncogenic transformation (1,4,23). Thus, EHV advantageously can be used for studying the varied biological consequences of herpesvirus infections.
Herpesvirus glycoproteins mediate essential viral functions such as cellular attachment and penetration, cell to cell spread of the virus and, importantly, determine the pathogenicity profile of infection. Herpesvirus glycoproteins are critical components in the interaction with the host immune system (36,37).
The well characterized glycoproteins of herpes simplex virus include gB, gC, gD, gE, gG, gH and gI (36,37,49-55). A number of studies have indicated the importance of herpes simplex virus glycoproteins in eliciting immune responses. Hence, it has been reported that gB and gD can elicit important immune response (6,8,13,18,21,22,26,27,30,44,46,47), gC Can stimulate class I restricted cytotoxic lymphocytes (15,32) whereas gD can stimulate class II cytotoxic T cell responses (21,22,44,46,47). gG was shown to be a target for complement-dependent antibody directed virus neutralization (38,39). A number of glycoproteins from other herpesviruses have also been shown to elicit important immune responses (5,10,36,56).
Both subtypes of EHV express six abundant glycoproteins (1,3,43). The genomic portions of the DNA sequences encoding gp2, gp10, gp13, gp14, gp17/18, and gp21/22a have been determined using lambda gtll expression vectors and monoclonal antibodies (3). Glycoproteins gp13 and gp14 were located in the same locations within the L component of the genome to which the gC and gB homologs, respectively, of herpes simplex virus map (3). EHV-1 appears unique among the alphaherpesviruses whose glycoprotein genes have been mapped in that five of its six major glycoproteins are encoded from sequences within the genome L component while only one (gp17/18) is mapped to the US region. Analyzing these data, it has been predicted that some of the low-abundance glycoproteins identified in EHV-1 virions as well as EHV-1 glycoproteins not yet identified map to the S component of the genome (3). The envelope glycoproteins are the principal immunogens of herpesviruses involved in eliciting both humoral and cellular host immune responses (5,8,73-75) and so are of the highest interest for those attempting to design vaccines.
Recently, the nucleotide sequence of the Kentucky T431 strain of the EHV-1 transcriptional unit encoding gp13 has been reported (2). An open reading frame encodes a 468 amino acid primary translation product of 51 kDa. The protein has the characteristic features of a membrane-spanning protein with nine potential N-linked glycosylation sites (Asn-X-Ser/Thr) present in the surface domain between the putative signal and transmembrane anchor portions of the protein (2). The glycoprotein was shown to be homologous to the herpes simplex virus (HSV) gC-1 and gC-2, to the pseudorabies virus (PRV) gIII and the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) gpV (2). EHV-1 gp13 is thus the structural homolog of the herpesvirus gC-like glycoproteins.
The nucleotide sequence of EHV-1 gp14 (71,72) has recently been reported. Analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence of gp14 glycoprotein revealed significant homology to the corresponding glycoprotein of HSV, gB.
Monoclonal antibodies directed against some EHV-1 glycoproteins have been shown to be neutralizing (76). Passive immunization experiments demonstrated that monoclonal antibodies directed against gp13 or gp14 (77) or against gp13, gp14 or gp17/18 (78) could protect hamsters against a lethal challenge. Other gB and gC glycoprotein analogs are also involved in protection against diseases caused by alphaherpesviruses (8,10,73). The EHV-1 gp17/18 glycoprotein, although characterized as another potential protective immunogen, had until now no known structural counterpart among the several glycoproteins encoded from the S component in the other alphaherpesviruses (66,79,80). Based on its genomic position, it has been speculated that gp17/18 could be the HSV gE analog (2).
Pseudorabies virus (PRV), an alphaherpesvirus, is the causative agent of Aujesky""s disease. The disease is highly infectious causing serious economic losses in the swine industry. The disease is associated with high morbidity and mortality among piglets and is characterized by severe respiratory illness, abortions, reduced litter size and decreased growth rates of survivors. Fatal encephalitis is a frequent consequence of infection. Latent viral infections, a characteristic of herpes viruses, can be established thus allowing recovered adult swine to serve as chronic carriers of the virus. For a recent extensive review see Wittmann and Rziha (81).
The PRV genome consists of a 90xc3x97106 dalton double stranded DNA (82) separated by inverted repeat sequences into unique long (UL) or unique short (US) segments (83,84). The PRV genome encodes approximately 100 polypeptides whose expression is regulated in a cascade-like fashion similar to other herpesviruses (85,86). To date, five glycoproteins gpI, gpII, gpIII, gp63 and gp50 have been shown to be associated with the viral envelope and associated with the various membranous structures of PRV infected cells (80,86-91). A sixth PRV encoded glycoprotein (gX) is released into the culture medium (92). The physical location of these glycoproteins on the PRV genome and their DNA sequence are currently known (62,80,91-98). As with the glycoproteins of other herpesviruses, the PRV glycoproteins mediate essential viral functions such as cellular attachment and penetration into or release from cells. The PRV glycoproteins are critical in the pathogenicity profile of PRV infection and are critical components in the resolution of disease and the immune status.
PRV gpI is non-essential for virus replication in vitro and in vivo and is absent from most attenuated PRV strains (99). The attenuated nature of these gI-deleted strains also indicates a possible role for gI in virulence (99,100). Other PRV proteins, however, appear to be involved in this function since expression of gI alone is not sufficient to produce high levels of virulence (100).
The role gI plays in eliciting an immune response against PRV is unclear. Monoclonal antibodies against gI can neutralize virus in vitro (101) and passively protect immunized mice against a lethal PRV challenge (81). Kost et al. (98) have recently described the expression of PRV gpI in vaccinia virus recombinants either alone or in association with gp50 and gp63. Intracranial inoculation of the vaccinia recombinants in mice resulted in increased virulence particularly when PRV gpI was associated with coexpression of gpso and gp63.
In swine, however, neutralizing antibodies against gI are not produced (5). In addition, a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing PRV gI-encoded polypeptides (98) does not protect mice against a lethal PRV challenge (relative to the protection afforded by the wildtype vaccinia virus control). These data, taken together, suggest that PRV gpI is more appropriate as a diagnostic probe rather than as a component in a subunit vaccine.
PRV glycoprotein gp63 is located adjacent to gp50 in the US region of the PRV genome (80). The coding sequence for PRV gp63 starts with three consecutive ATG codons approximately 20 nucleotides downstream from the stop codon of gp50. There is no recognizable transcriptional signal motif and translation probably occurs from the same transcript as gp50. PRV gp63 is non-essential in vitro (88). PRV gp63 as a continuous DNA sequence with PRV gp50 has been expressed in vaccinia virus as reported by Kost et al. (98). The contribution of PRV gp63 to protection in nice against PRV challenge is difficult to assess since those studies did not dissect the contributions of PRV gp50 and gp63.
PRV glycoprotein gX is a non-structural glycoprotein whose end product is secreted into the extracellular fluid (85,92). No in Vitro neutralization of PRV was obtained with either polyclonal or monoclonal sera to PRVgX (102,103) and subunit gX vaccines were non-protective against challenge (104).
PRV glycoprotein gp50 is the Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) gD analog (97). The DNA open reading frame encodes 402 amino acids (95). The mature glycosylated form (50-60 kDa) contains O-linked carbohydrate without N-linked glycosylation (95). Swine serum is highly reactive with PRV gp50, suggesting its importance as an immunogen. Nonoclonal antibodies to gp50 neutralize PRV in vitro with or without complement (97,105,106) and passively protect mice (102,105,106) and swine (102). Vaccinia virus recombinants expressing PRV gp50 induced serum neutralizing antibodies and protected both mice and swine against lethal PRV challenge (98,107,108).
The PRV gpIII gene is located in the UL region of the genome. The 1437 bp open reading frame encodes a protein of 479 amino acids. The 50.9 kDa deduced primary translation product has eight potential N-linked glycosylation sites (96). PRV gIII is the HSV-1 gC analog (96). Functional replacement of PRV gIII by HSVgC was not observed (109). Although PRV gIII is nonessential for replication in vitro (110,111), the mature glycosylated form (98 kDa) is an abundant constituent of the PRV envelope. Anti-gpIII monoclonal antibodies neutralize the virus in vitro with or without complement (86,106,110) and can passively protect mice and swine (102). The PRV glycoprotein gIII can protect mice and swine from lethal PRV challenge after immunization with a Cro/gIII fusion protein expressed in E. coli (Robbins, A., R. Watson, L. Enquist, European Patent application 0162738A1) or when expressed in a vaccinia recombinant (Panicali, D., L. Gritz, G. Mazzara, European Patent application 0261940A2).
One of the main constituents of the PRV envelope is a disulfide linked complex of three glycoproteins (120 kDa, 67 kDa and 58 kDa) designated as PRV gpII according to the nomenclature of Hampl (86). The DNA sequence encoding PRV gpII is located in the left end of UL. The open reading frame of 2976 nucleotides encodes a primary translation product of 913 amino acids or 110 kDa. PRV gpII is the HSV-1 gB homolog (62). Monoclonal antibodies directed against PRV gpII have been shown to neutralize the virus in vitro (5) with or without complement (81). Moreover, passive immunization studies demonstrated that neutralizing monoclonal antibodies partially protected swine but failed to protect mice from virulent virus challenge (102). To date, the active immunization of swine with PRV gpII glycoprotein has not been reported.
During the past 20 years the incidence of genital infections caused by herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV2) has increased significantly. Recent estimates indicate that in the United States, 5-20 million people have genital herpes (112). Although oral treatment with acyclovir has been shown to reduce the severity of primary infections (113) and to suppress recurrent episodes (114), the control and treatment of these infections is far from ideal. A vaccine to prevent primary and recurrent infections is therefore needed.
The herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) genome encodes at least eight antigenically distinct glycoproteins: gB, gC, gD, gE, gG, gH, gI and gJ (115). Homologues for these genes appear to be present in HSV2 (116-119). Since these glycoproteins are present in both the virion envelope and the infected cell plasma membrane, they can induce humoral and cell-mediated protective immune responses (37).
The relative importance of humoral and cellular immunity in protection against herpes simplex virus infections has not been completely elucidated. Mice immunized with purified HSV1 gB, gC or gD are protected against lethal HSV1 challenge (120). Mice have also been protected against lethal HSV1 or HSV2 challenge by passive immunization with antibodies to total HSV1 (121) or HSV2 (122) virus and with antibodies to the individual HSV2 gB, gC, gD or gE glycoproteins (123). This protection, however, appears to be dependent upon a competent T-cell response since animals immunosuppressed by irradiation, cyclophosphamide or anti-thymocyte serum were not protected (124).
The contribution of the individual glycoproteins in eliciting a protective immune response is not completely understood. Expression of these glycoproteins in a heterologous system, such as vaccinia, has allowed some of these parameters to be analyzed. For example, vaccinia virus vectors expressing HSV1 gB (125) and HSV1 gC (32) have been shown to induce cytotoxic T-cell responses. In addition, it has been shown that mice immunized with recombinant vaccinia virus expressing either HSV1 gB (8), HSV1 gC (126) or HSV1 gD (26) are protected against a lethal challenge of HSV1. A recombinant vaccinia virus expressing HSV1 gD has also been shown to be protective against HSV2 in a guinea pig model system (44). It is not known, however, whether expression of multiple HSV antigens will result in a potentiation of this protective response.
Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV1) is responsible for a variety of diseases in cattle, including conjunctivitis, vulvovaginitis and abortion (127). It is also one of the most important agents of bovine respiratory disease, acting either directly or as a predisposing factor for bacterial infection (128).
BHV1 specifies more than 30 structural polypeptides, 11 of which are glycosylated (129). Four of these glycoproteins, gI, gII, gIII and gIV, have been characterized and found to be homologous to the herpes simplex virus (HSV) glycoproteins gB, gC, gD, and gE (130,131).
Subunit vaccines consisting of gI, gIII and/or gIV have been shown to protect cattle from disease (using a BHVl/Pasteurella haemolytica aerosol challenge model) but not from infection (132). These results indicate the importance of these glycoproteins in eliciting a successful immune response against BHV1.
gI and gIII have also been cloned into vaccinia virus and cattle immunized with these recombinants are shown to produce neutralizing antibodies to BHV1 (56,133).
Feline rhinotracheitis is a common and worldwide disease of cats which is caused by an alphaherpesvirus designated feline herpesvirus type 1 (FHV-1). Like other herpesviruses, FHV-l establishes a latent infection which results in periodic reactivation (134). FHV-1 infections in breeding colonies are characterized by a high rate of mortality in kittens. Secondary infections of the upper respiratory tract are quite debilitating in adults. The control of this disease is currently attempted by using modified live or inactivated vaccines which can suppress the development of clinical signs but do not prevent infection that results in shedding of virus. Thus, asymptomatic vaccinated cats can spread virulent virus and latent infections cannot be prevented by existing vaccines (135) or by the safer purified subunits vaccines under development (136,137).
Herpesvirus glycoproteins mediate attachment of the virion to the host cell and are extremely important in viral infectivity (138,139). They also determine the subtype specificity of the virus (140). Herpesvirus glycoproteins antigens are recognized by both the humoral and cellular immune systems and have been shown to evoke protective immune responses in vaccinated hosts (44,107,141,142). FHV-1 has been shown to contain at least 23 different proteins (143,144). Of these, at least five are glycosylated (144,145) with reported molecular masses ranging from 120 kDa to 60 kDa. The FHV-1 glycoproteins have been shown to be immunogenic (143,145).
Like several other alphaherpesviruses, FHV-1 appears to have a homolog of glycoprotein B (gB) of HSV-1, and partial sequence of the FHV-1 gB gene has recently been reported (146). The HSV-1 gB is required for virus entry and for cell fusion (147-149). The HSV-1 gB and the gB analogs of other herpesviruses have been shown to elicit important circulating antibody as well as cell-mediated immune responses (8,10,37,47,73,150). The FHV-1 gB glycoprotein is a 134 kDa complex which is dissociated with B-mercaptoethanol into two glycoproteins of 66 kDa and 60 kDa. The FHV-1 DNA genome is approximately 134 Kb in size (153).
Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), a human B lymphotropic herpesvirus, is a member of the genus lymphocryptovirus which belongs to the subfamily gammaherpesvirus (115). It is the causative agent of infectious mononucleosis (154) and of B-cell lymphomas (156). EBV is associated with two human malignancies: the endemic Burkitt""s lymphoma and the undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (156).
Since the EBV genome was completely sequenced (207) as the genomes of VZV (66) and HSV1 (158) numerous homologies between these different herpesviruses have been described (159). In some cases these homologies have been used to predict the potential functions of some open reading frame (ORFs) of EBV. The EBV genes homologous to the HSV1 genes involved in immunity are of particular interest. So the EBV BALF4 gene has homologies with HSV1 gB (68) and the EBV BXLF2 gene with HSV1 gH (161). Finally, the EBV BBRF3 gene contains homologies with a CMV membrane protein (162).
Among the EBV proteins, the two major envelope glycoproteins gp340 and gp220 are the best characterized potential vaccinating antigens. They are derived from the same gene by splicing without a change in the reading frame (163,164). Monoclonal antibodies and polyclonal sera directed against gp340 neutralize EBV in vitro (165). The cottontop tamarins, the only susceptible animal, can be protected by an immunization with purified gp340 (166) and with a recombinant EBV gp340 vaccinia virus (167). In this case, the protection was achieved with a recombinant derived from the WR vaccinia strain but not with a recombinant derived from the Wyeth vaccinia strain. The Wyeth strain has been widely used as a vaccine strain.
Monoclonal antibodies directed against the gp85, the EBV homologue to HSV1 gH, have been described as in vitro neutralizing antibodies (168,169).
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a member of the betaherpesvirinae subfamily (family Herpesviridae). HCMV can produce a persistent productive infection in the face of substantial specific immunity. Even if HCMV possesses a low pathogenicity in general, intrauterine infection causes brain damages or deafness in about 0.15% of all newborns and it is the most common infectious complication of organ transplantation (170). Although the efficacy of an experimental live attenuated (Towne strain) HCMV vaccine has been demonstrated (171), concerns about live vaccine strains have directed efforts towards the identification of HCMV proteins usable as a subunit vaccine. In this prospect the identification of virion glycoproteins and their evaluation as protective agents is an important step.
Three immunologically distinct families of glycoproteins associated with the HCMV envelope have been described (172): gCI (gp55 and gp93-130); gCII (gp47-52); and gCIII (gp85-p145).
The gene coding for gCI is homologous to HSVI gB. The gCII glycoproteins are coded by a family of five genes (HXLF) arranged in tandem and sharing one or two regions of homology. More probably gCII is coded by only two of these genes (172,173). The gene coding for gCIII is homologous to HSVI gH (174).
In vitro neutralizing antibodies specifically directed against each of these families have been described (174-176).
Suitably modified poxvirus mutants carrying exogenous equine herpesvirus genes which are expressed in a host as an antigenic determinant eliciting the production by the host of antibodies to herpesvirus antigens represent novel vaccines which avoid the drawbacks of conventional vaccines employing killed or attenuated live organisms. Thus, for instance, the production of vaccines from killed organisms requires the growth of large quantities of the organisms followed by a treatment which will selectively destroy their infectivity without affecting their antigenicity. On the other hand, vaccines containing attenuated live organisms always present the possibility of a reversion of the attenuated organism to a pathogenic state. In contrast, when a recombinant poxvirus suitably modified with an equine herpesvirus gene coding for an antigenic determinant of a disease-producing herpesvirus is used as a vaccine, the possibility of reversion to a pathogenic organism is avoided since the poxvirus contains only the gene coding for the antigenic determinant of the disease-producing organism and not those genetic portions of the organism responsible for the replication of the pathogen.
PRV fatally infects many mammalian species (cattle, dogs, etc.). Adult pigs, however, usually survive infection and therefore represent an important virus reservoir. Because PRV causes severe economic losses, vaccination of pigs with attenuated or killed vaccines is performed in many countries.
Attempts to control PRV infection in swine and to reduce economic losses have been made by active immunization with modified live or inactivated vaccines. Attenuated vaccines which generally induce long lasting immunity and are cost efficient present the risk of insufficient attenuation or genetic instability. Inactivated vaccines are less efficient, require several immunizations and usually contain potent adjuvants. These latter formulations can induce post-vaccinal allergic reactions such as lack of appetite, hyperthermia or abortion in pregnant sows. These vaccine types also suffer from certain drawbacks with respect to prevention of latent infections, overcoming the effects of maternal antibodies on vaccination efficacy, and eliminating the potential use of a serological diagnostic assay to distinguish vaccinated animals from those previously infected with PRV.
Alternative vaccination strategies such as the use of recombinant poxviruses that express immunologically pertinent PRV gene products would have certain advantages: (a) eliminate live attenuated PRV vaccine strains from the field; and (b) allow the distinction of vaccinated versus infected or seropositive animals. The latter could be accomplished by the use of appropriate diagnostic reagents that would precisely distinguish vaccinated from naturally infected animals. This is an important consideration because of existing regulations controlling the movement of seropositive animals. Further, vaccination is more economical and preferable to testing and eliminating infected animals from the lots. The development of such vaccines requires a knowledge of the contributions made by appropriate PRV antigens to the induction of protective immunity. In the case of PRV, as with other members of the herpesvirus family, the glycoproteins are important candidates for antigens to be present in an effective subunit recombinant vaccine.
The technology of generating vaccinia virus recombinants has recently been extended to other members of the poxvirus family which have a more restricted host range. In particular, avipoxviruses, which replicate in avian species, have been engineered to express immunologically pertinent gene products. Inoculation of avian (42,177) and non-avian species (41) with avipoxvirus recombinants elicited protective immune responses against the corresponding pathogen.
Attenuated live vaccines and inactivated vaccines to BHV1 have been available for over 30 years and have successfully reduced the incidence of BHV1 related diseases. These vaccines, however, do not prevent latent infection or reinfection with wildtype virus. They also complicate the differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals.
Both types of vaccines have other significant drawbacks. Vaccination of pregnant cows with attenuated live vaccines can cause fetal death and subsequent abortion (127). In addition, vaccinated animals have been shown to shed virus (178). Therefore, vaccinated animals kept with pregnant cows can spread infectious virus to the pregnant animal and cause abortion of the fetus.
Inactivated vaccines do not induce abortions or provoke viral excretion. However, they necessitate the use of adjuvants and can cause fatal hypersensitivity reactions (anaphylaxis) and nonfatal inflammation and fever (179).
One of the more important issues in vaccination is overcoming or avoiding maternal immunity. In this respect, if a mother is immune to a particular pathogen, the xe2x80x9cimmunityxe2x80x9d in the mother will be passed on to the newborn via the antibodies present in the colostrum and/or by additional pathways. Nevertheless, the newborn cannot be successfully vaccinated until the level of maternal immunity has waned sufficiently. Therefore, there is a narrow window where the newborn can be successfully vaccinated in the presence of waning maternal immunity.
It can thus be appreciated that provision of a herpesvirus recombinant poxvirus, and of vaccines which provide protective immunity against herpesvirus infections, which confer on the art the advantages of live virus inoculation but which reduce or eliminate the previously discussed problems would be a highly desirable advance over the current state of technology.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide recombinant poxviruses, which viruses express gene products of herpesvirus, and to provide a method of making such recombinant poxviruses.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide for the cloning and expression of herpesvirus coding sequences in a poxvirus vector, particularly a vaccinia virus, fowlpox virus or canarypox virus vector.
It is another object of this invention to provide a vaccine which is capable of eliciting herpesvirus neutralizing antibodies and protective immunity against a lethal herpesvirus challenge.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent after consideration of the following.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a recombinant poxvirus containing therein a DNA sequence from herpesvirus in a nonessential region of the poxvirus genome. Advantageously, the herpesvirus is a member of the alphaherpesvirus, betaherpesvirus or gammaherpesvirus subfamily. In particular, the DNA sequence from herpesvirus codes for a herpesvirus glycoprotein. More in particular, the herpesvirus glycoprotein is selected from the group consisting of equine herpesvirus gp13, equine herpesvirus gp14, equine herpesvirus gD, equine herpesvirus gp63, equine herpesvirus gE, pseudorabies virus gp 50, pseudorabies virus gpII, pseudorabies virus gpIII, pseudorabies virus gpI, herpes simplex virus gB, herpes simplex virus gC, herpes simplex virus gD, bovine herpes virus gI, feline herpes virus gB, Epstein-Barr virus gp220, Epstein-Barr virus gp340, Epstein-Barr virus gB, Epstein-Barr virus gH and human cytomegalovirus gB.
According to the present invention, the recombinant poxvirus expresses gene products of the foreign herpesvirus gene. In particular, the foreign DNA sequence codes for a herpesvirus glycoprotein and the foreign DNA is expressed in a host by the production of the herpesvirus glycoprotein. Advantageously, a plurality of herpesvirus glycoproteins are coexpressed in the host by the recombinant poxvirus. The poxvirus is advantageously a vaccinia virus or an avipox virus, such as fowlpox virus or canarypox virus.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a vaccine for inducing an immunological response in a host animal inoculated with the vaccine, said vaccine including a carrier and a recombinant poxvirus containing, in a nonessential region thereof, DNA from herpesvirus. More in particular, the DNA codes for and expresses a herpesvirus glycoprotein. Advantageously, a plurality of herpesvirus glycoproteins are coexpressed in the host by the poxvirus. The poxvirus used in the vaccine according to the present invention is advantageously a vaccinia virus or an avipox virus, such as fowlpox virus or canarypox virus.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to mechanisms to bypass the issue of maternal immunity. If the barrier is due to the presence of antibodies to a given antigen(s) then the barrier of maternal immunity may be overcome or avoided by using, selectively, vectors expressing defined subsets of antigens. For example, the pregnant animal can be vaccinated with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing pseudorabies virus glycoprotein gp50 and the offspring can be vaccinated at birth or shortly thereafter with vaccinia recombinants expressing other pseudorabies virus glycoproteins gpII or gpIII or combinations thereof. On the other hand, if the barrier presented by maternal immunity is due to the vector then one may differentially vaccinate the mother with one vector (vaccinia or avipox) and vaccinate the offspring with the other vector. This procedure, of course, takes into consideration not only the use of different vectors but also vectors expressing a different constellation of glycoproteins. Thus, the present invention relates to a method for overcoming or avoiding maternal immunity which would otherwise prevent successful immunization in a newborn offspring. By the present invention, the newborn offspring is inoculated with a recombinant poxvirus containing therein DNA from a non-pox source in a nonessential region of the poxvirus genome, said DNA coding for a first antigen of a pathogen of the newborn offspring, and said antigen being different from a second antigen of the same pathogen used to induce an immunological response to the same pathogen in the mother of the newborn offspring. Also by the present invention, the newborn offspring is inoculated with a recombinant first poxvirus containing therein DNA from a non-pox source in a nonessential region of the first poxvirus genome, said DNA coding for an antigen of a pathogen of the newborn offspring, and said first poxvirus being different from a recombinant second poxvirus used to induce an immunological response to the same pathogen in the mother of the newborn offspring.